Double the Amount
by MimiMichie
Summary: Double love. Double killed. Double everything. And it starts when he’s dead. He’s dead, lifeless, gone. She knows that, has accepted that dreadful fact, and yet… why does she feel like she’s seeing him everywhere? HitsuHina
1. Prologue

I started on my last chapter of _Dreaming. _I was so close to finished, but then… I decided I didn't like it. It just wasn't… right… So, I need to start a new one. Heheh, sorry! I'm won't update Paradise until my question is answered. Hmmm…. And yeah…

This idea just came into my head, and it's been bothering me ever since, so here it is! Do pay attention to the way I spell the names. Enjoy!

Summary: He's dead. She knows that, has accepted that dreadful fact, yet… why does she feel like she's seeing him everywhere?

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach!

Prologue

* * *

_Momo sat silently on her bed, looking out of the window. The outcast of the neighborhood was gloomy and solemn. Her face was stoic; her eyes empty and emotionless. The sounds quietly reverberated around her – the creak of the door, the branches scratching against the window, the drippings of the water from the faucet. _

_The thought, __**that time**__, kept replaying in her head. It didn't happened. It couldn't have happened. There was no reason… it just couldn't. _

_That time… just over, and over, and over again…._

xxx

He wrapped his broad arm around her waist, pulling her tighter. She giggled, beaming up at him. She snuggled closer to him, pulling the blanket up higher. She tugged on her scarf, wrapping it more carefully around her neck.

"Are you cold?" he asked her.

"I'm fine," she smiled. "It's so pretty out here. Aren't you lucky to have your birthday on such a pretty night?"

"But you seem cold," he stated. "It would've been better if we weren't sitting on a roof."

"But you like the roof the best," she protested. "It would only make sense to do so."

"Whatever you say, dearest," he teased. "But if you happen to catch a fever, don't expect me to be there."

"Don't tease me like that," she pouted. "It's not funny. If I happen to die, I will blame it all on you."

"Does that mean I get most of your money?"

"I'm not including you in my will either," she declared.

xxx

_She smiled sadly._

_"Will she wake up, sensei?" a nervous voice asked from the doorway as she watched her best friend sit there. "Will she be okay?"_

_"She's fine," he said firmly. "She just needs to adjust to present time."_

_"She's living in the past," the girl said softly, her long, orange hair getting in the way of her face. "I'm afraid she won't wake up…"_

_"She will. She'll be fine."_

_"Should I do anything?"_

_"Just let her be. She'll wake up on her own according – when the time is right." The doctor looked at his watch. "Time flies by, Inoue-san. I have a meeting to attend to. Please do call me if anything happens, especially if she wakes up."_

_"Arigato, Kurosaki-sensei."_

_"Anytime."_

_xxx_

"Ah! Ahahaha! Shiro-kun! Stop tickling me! Ahaha! Ah! The blanket! It blew away!" she gasped out as the blue, ruffled coverlet blew away with the wind. He slowly descended off her.

"I'll go get it," he said, swiftly climbing down the ladder from the roof.

"Hai, hai! Come back safely!"

He waved her off as he quickly dashed to the street where the blue blanket had flown.

xxx

_"Momo," the girl said softly. "Do you want anything to eat? You've already started to get pale, and it's only been a few days…"_

_The young girl broke her train of thoughts and glanced at the older one. "I'm fine," she said unemotionally. She turned to the window once more and began to wander off, lost, in deep thought._

_"I'll go make you some food anyway," the older girl hesitated, waiting for an answer. She ignored her, however. Orihime bustled out of the room quietly, leaving the young girl to her contemplations._

_Momo sighed quietly, and her tears started to break out. "It's just a dream," she told herself, closing her eyes and flopping onto her bed. "It's just a dream…"_

xxx

"Toshiro! Toshiro, stop!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She quickly climbed down the roof. "Toshiro, don't step one foot on that street! You're not looking correctly! There's a car coming! Stop, Toshiro, stop!"

Her fiancée paid no heed to her and quickly ran onto the street, rushing to get the blanket that had flown away with the chilly wind. Momo tugged on her scarf tighter, biting her nails nervously. A habit of hers, it was. "Toshiro, watch out!"

It was then…

xxx

_"No! No, no, no, no, no!" she screamed into her pillow in the deepness of the night. Tossing and turning in her bed, she moaned, and she cried. "Stop! Don't go!"_

_"Shhh, Momo. It's just a dream," Orihime assured her, soothing Momo's hair down._

_Her scream pierced the silent night. She shrieked, and she screamed, and she cried; there was no stopping her, and Orihime let her be._

_Momo woke up with a sudden jolt. Beads of sweat dripped form her forehead. Her eyes, puffy and red and watery. Her hands were trembling as her whole body. She leaned into Orihime's hug. "Please…" she choked out, "tell me it was just a dream. Everything was just a dream…. I'm living in a dream…"_

xxx

She stared in horror as she looked at the surge of blood, spewing on the street. "Oh my God… Oh… Oh…" she managed to choke out. Running as if she was in danger, she dashed towards the limp body on the street. "Toshiro!"

"Toshiro!" she screamed upon arriving at the scene. "Somebody call an ambulance! Please, oh please! Please don't die on me, Toshiro! We're about to get married… It's your birthday for Pete's sake! I don't care if we have to postpone the wedding to another three years or if we have to pay 200,000 yen for the treatment… please… just don't die on me…"

xxx

_"He can't be…" she repeated._

_"I'm sorry, Momo. But it's been like that for a few days already…"_

_"He's not dead! He can't be dead!" she screamed, pushing Orihime away. "It's just a dream… It's just a dream! I'm living in a nightmare!"_

_"Momo…" Orihime started softly, reaching out to touch her friend._

_"No! Don't touch me! Just leave me alone!" Momo screamed icily. "He's not dead! I won't believe he's dead… He can't be… He promised… This is just a nightmare…. Wake me up, Orihime! Please wake me up!"_

_"I wish I could, Momo… I really wish I could…"_

xxx

"Sensei! Is he okay? Please tell me he's okay!" Momo sobbed, her dried tears making it hard to move her face. Her puffy eyes were itchy, but she ignored everything. She just wanted him to be okay… to be alive….

The doctor looked at her with sad, tender, Oh-I'm-so-sorry eyes. Momo knew those eyes. Oh, how she feared them. They were the same eyes she had seen for weeks, months, when her mother died. "No…." she whispered. "No… He's not… He can't be…"

"I'm sorry, Hinamori-san," he said despondently, "but he is…."

"You're lying… You're lying!"

"He's dead, Hinamori-san. I can't do anything. He's dead."

"You wretched bastard!" she screamed, making everyone's head turned towards her way. "You're lying! You're not trying hard enough! You couldn't save him… You couldn't save him! You're useless!"

"I tried, Hinamori-san. I did, but there was nothing I could do… He suffered from too much blood loss."

"No," she sobbed. "This can't be happening… He's… dead… No…" Her knees let go of her, sending her to the floor. "He's dead. Oh my God, he's dead… He can't be dead…"

xxx

"He's… gone…?" she trembled. "He's dead…"

"Yes, Momo," Orihime smiled glumly. "He's dead. You've woken up. I'm so glad." She let Momo burst out into a series of fresh, new tears. Momo buried her head into her hands and let her best friend hug her. "It's okay, Momo. He's gone to a happy place now. I'm sure he doesn't want you to act like this… I'm glad you've finally accepted the fact though."

And she realized if she hadn't woken up, she would have kept living the scene of when he died over and over, and she knew that would be devastating. Momo cried until there were no more tears to cry. She cried until the words dissolved into her.

_He died…_

_He died…_

_He's dead._ And she accepted the fact.

* * *

So here's the prologue. You must be wondering what's up with the italicizing, why isn't the past italicized instead of the present, etc. etc. Umm, well, the past is the non-italicized, and the present is the italicized. It's because Momo's living in the past at this moment, and she thinks the past is the present, and the present is just a dream. And then she wakes up when she realizes that he's dead, and he's not coming back, and he will just die over and over again, and that's unitalicized because she's not dreaming anymore. Hope it's not too confusing... -.-;

So hope you enjoyed it! (It's really short; I'm sorry… it's a prologue… Just something simple…)

Xoxo MimiMichie


	2. Imagination

Here's the second chapter! Thank you for all of your wonderful reviews! Enjoy!

Disclaimer – Me no own Bleach.

Ch. 2 – Imagination

* * *

"I… I don't know if I can do this, Orihime," Momo trembled, holding on to Orihime's hand as she led her to the living room. It was her first time to step out of her room since that day (excluding when she needed to go to the bathroom). Since the day she was told that he was dead.

"It'll be fine," Orihime assured her, smiling slightly at her. "You need to just… live, Momo. He would want that."

"But it's not right," she cried. "It's not right… to be so happy while he's… dead…." They passed _his_ bedroom, where _he_ slept, where _he_ comforted her at night, where _he_ hugged her, where he was just… _him_. And she cried.

"Momo," Orihime started, panicking. "Please don't cry!"

"Demo... I miss him so much, Orihime! I just miss him so much…" she sobbed, trying to stop her tears with her hands. "I just don't what I'm supposed to do with my life anymore! He was… He still is… He's my everything! I mean… I have you and… Kaa-san and Tou-san… demo… He's still _him_. No one can _replace_ him…"

"I know, Momo. I know. Toshiro-san is Toshiro-san. No one else is Toshiro-san. Demo, Momo… Do you really think he wants you to live your life like this? To be so… miserable? I don't think so! He loves you so much! He'd want you to be happy no matter what. Now dry up those tears, so we can get to our girls' night in with the others."

"Yes… okay…" she whimpered softly, drying up her tears with her flannel pajama shirt.

Orihime took her hand delicately into her own and brought her to the living room where Rukia, Nemu, and Tatsuki were waiting in their own pajamas. Nemu excused herself politely, making her way to the kitchen. "What is she… doing?" Momo asked quietly.

"Making popcorn. Oh, and that weird, icky stuff you guys put on your face," Tatsuki answered, her face scrunching up.

Momo tried to let out a smile. She really did, but it seemed that she didn't even have enough energy for that. Tatsuki noticed and said, "It's okay, Momo. Smile when you can. Don't force yourself."

"Hai…"

-X-

They were watching a movie. And not just any movie either. It was her favorite movie. The movie she always watched with Toshiro on Saturday nights when they weren't out on dates. And they'd laugh at the comical parts… and when it got boring, they made-out. And now he wasn't here to do that. Never… She couldn't bear to watch it, and she couldn't bear to cry and ruin the nights for her friends; she looked away, glancing outside the window.

It looked like it had rained earlier, but she hadn't noticed. Not until now, at least. But it wasn't raining anymore, and she was glad, for if it were raining, it would have made her more depressed. Like a flash before her eyes, she saw something – or rather someone – dart across the lawn. She could only remember a vague detail of the stranger: flecks of white hair. "Toshiro?" she asked softly, eyes widening just a bit.

"Momo?" Orihime asked, nudging her carefully. "Are you okay? You're in such a daze…"

"Huh?" she asked softly as she snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Orihime.

"Are you okay?" she repeated slowly, dropping her hand from the bucket of popcorn. Her eyes carefully studied her best friend. She saw confusion and curiosity in the girl's eyes.

"I'm fine…"

"Okay… Just tell me if you need anything, okay?" Orihime whispered softly with worried eyes.

"Mm…" She turned her gaze away from Orihime and turned towards the window. She could've sworn she had just seen her beloved. Her one and only Toshiro. It had to be him. Who else had snow white hair?

Maybe it was him.

Or maybe it was just a figment of her imagination.

-X-

"Eeek!" Orihime let out a giggly shriek as they started to throw the cream from the homemade facial masks at each other. The girls, including the depressed Momo, were smothered with the stuff on their faces. Nemu had accidentally made extra, which had caused the "Green Gunk War", as described by Tatsuki. Even the quiet Momo was giggling a little bit.

After about half an hour, the girls washed the facial masks off their faces. Orihime took a glance at Momo, who was beyond tired. She was dead worried for her. She didn't want her to go to sleep too late. Not just yet. Especially since the funeral was the next day. She needed to store her tears inside – and her energy as well.

"Let's go to sleep. I'll sleep on the floor in Momo's room," Orihime announced, clapping her hands to get their attention. "Tatsuki and Rukia can share the guest room near the backyard. Nemu, you can take…" Orihime's voice trailed off. There weren't anymore rooms besides Toshiro's room, and the guest room only had two beds. She didn't want to put Nemu on the couch because she was a guest.

"I'll sleep on the couch," she offered, grabbing a blanket and pillow from the closet. "It's fine with me."

Orihime smiled and mouthed her a thank you. She took Momo's delicate hand into hers and led her into her room. "Come on, Momo. Let's go to sleep."

"Hai…"

-X-

She couldn't sleep. She tossed, and she turned, but she couldn't sleep. She had shut her eyes, counting to ten, the way he had told her to when she couldn't sleep. She stared blankly up at the plain, bare ceiling. Tomorrow was the day. The day they would take her Toshiro away. Not that he wasn't already gone, but tomorrow was when they would burn him into ashes and store him… How dreadful, she had thought. How horrible for them to do something like that to him.

She heard a low rustle outside her window. She turned to it, rolling on her back and then sitting up. She dazedly opened the curtain. And she saw him.

His white hair. His green eyes. His soft lips. His huge hands when they were placed amongst hers. He was there. Her Toshiro. He was standing there. He was facing something to the right, a small glare upon his eyes. But she didn't care. He was _there._

She quickly got off the bed and pulled on a pair of slippers. She quietly walked out of her room, dashed to the front door, and opened it. A chilly wind sent shivers up her spine. She eyed the living room and saw a coat lying on a chair. Grabbing it, she tossed it around her shoulder and rushed outside. "Toshiro?" she called out softly, wiggling her freezing toes that were inside her not-so warm slippers. "Toshiro?"

She glanced around her front yard. She didn't see him. He wasn't there. Was that person that she saw… was that him? Of course it was he! He looked exactly like her Toshiro. But why wasn't he there? Wasn't he there for her? Didn't he love her anymore? "Toshiro?" she cried out, sinking to the floor.

"Momo!" Orihime gasped as she ran outside. She helped Momo off the ground. "Momo, what are you doing out here? You're outside in the middle of the night! It's in the middle of winter! You could catch a high fever, Momo. Are you okay? Momo?"

Momo, her head feeling dizzy and woozy, answered with a small sigh. Everything around her was messed up. Everything was rocking and moving. She tried to stand up straight without Orihime's help. Back and forth… Back and forth… Everything moved back and forth… and then everything was black.

-X-

"…Does she have a fever, Sensei?" she woke up to a familiar, feminine voice. She tried to lift her eyelids, but they felt unusually heavy and uneasy to lift. Momo let them be.

"No, she should be alright. No fever, which is a miracle, having her outside in the middle of the night," the doctor answered. She could hear scribbling against something hard. A rustle here and there. A paper that was torn.

"Thank God," the woman sighed, relieved. She could hear footsteps. Closer and closer, they were getting. She heard the clickety-clack of a pair of high heels and a slow and steady thump of a pair of men's shoes.

She stood near Momo. Momo could feel her presence. It was her best friend. She could just tell. Plus, the voice helped her a lot. "Or…Orihime?" she called out faintly, her eyes still shut.

"Momo!" she gasped in surprise. She touched Momo's hand with her own. "Momo, please be okay… I'm here for you…"

"Arigato, Orihime."

-X-

"…He was a wonderful man. He was everything to me. He always made sure that I was his first priority," Momo stated softly into the microphone. As she said every word, she began to believe in herself and what Toshiro would've wanted for her. "And now that he's gone, I know that he wants me to be happy… I know he doesn't want me to wallow in self-pity or feel depressed. He wants me to be… me. Momo. Hinamori Momo, the person he fell in love with. And… I love him a lot, and I'll miss him… So I hope that he's happy in heaven because he deserves it. Because he's Toshiro."

She smiled sadly as she stepped down from the pew. She stood next to Orihime. Orihime hugged her and told her he would always be watching over her.

After the funeral, they were allowed to take a look at him, dead. Momo slowly approached the open coffin. She could feel herself tremble in fear, nervousness filled up her brain. Orihime walked behind her cautiously, giving her enough room. The minute the young, black-haired woman saw the dead body of her fiancé, she burst into tears. "Oh, Toshiro…" was all she could manage to say.

His pale body… His eyes were closed, shut forever. She trembled as she touched his cold hand. His lifeless body… He was cold. Freezing.

He was gone.

-X-

"It's… Christmas," she whispered as she stood in the snow, lifting her hand up as the ice descended upon her hand. "Merry Christmas, Toshiro…"

"Momo!" a voice called out from behind her. Momo swiftly turned around, smiling. "Merry Christmas!" A hug engulfed Momo.

Orihime tugged on Momo's sleeve. "Come on! There are a whole bunch of presents under the tree from everyone!"

"Okay… Just wait. I just want to be alone right now," Momo answered softly.

Orihime's smile faded a little. "Okay. Don't stay out here too long. You'll catch a fever. Okay?"

"Hai."

Orihime shivered as she went back inside and closed the door behind her. Momo stood there for a bit longer, wrapping her coat around her tighter. Wisps of her soft hair surrounded her face. She inhaled some fresh, cold air and breathed out deeply.

And then something scurried past her. Her eyes blinked open. "Who's there?"

Nothing answered her. "Hello?" she called out softly. "Is anybody there?"

She could hear noise in the distance. A few footsteps walking farther and farther away from her. Something brushed against her toes. A rich, ocean deep blue scarf. Its fringes tickled her ankles. She bent down to pick it up and looked back up at the retreating silhouette.

"Matte!" she called out, using the most of her energy. She jogged up to him, panting slightly. The figure stopped. She caught up to him, breathing deeply. Her breath came in small puffs of white as she breathed out. After catching her breath, she said, "You dropped your scarf." She held it up to him.

He turned around and looked at her with his penetrating, hard eyes. She caught her breath and almost forgot to breathe. "Thank you," he said coldly, taking it from her hands.

But she ignored that. It was _him._ He was dead? Alive. Dead. She didn't know. But he was there. Standing there, in front of her. With his white hair. And his emerald eyes. And his grim lips. And… just everything… He turned around, about to leave, but she made a soft noise. Almost like a grunt in curiosity but more... soft.

She looked at her hands, her eyes confused. She narrowed her eyebrows, trying to figure it out. She didn't get it. He was dead. He was alive. What was he? Who was he? She muttered something softly under her breath. She didn't mean for him to hear it. But he did anyway.

"Toshiro?" she breathed softly. It was almost inaudible, but he heard it. He heard it quite clearly.

* * *

Ehhh… I was having a hard time deciding where to stop, but in the end, I chose right here. Either way, it would've been a cliffie, but this one… felt better…

I guess it's a bit short... I promise the other chapters will get longer. I just had to end it here though... Gomen!

Anyways, hoped you liked it! R and R!

Xoxo MimiMichie


	3. Darkness of Confusion

Heyys! So long since I've updated... I'm sooo sorry, but now it's summer, and I have plenty of time! Well, kind of... cuz I do have a life, and I plan to use it. Anyways, thank you all for your wonderful reviews! I appreciate them greatly! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own _Bleach_.

Ch. 3 - Darkness of Confusion

* * *

_She stood there, surprised, with a confused expression placed on her face_

_She stood there, surprised, with a confused expression placed on her face. Her eyebrows narrowed as she stared at her hand in amazement, too astounded to look at him in the eye. "Toshiro?" she murmured under her breath._

* * *

He looked her over with a hardening stare. He could see her breaths come out raggedly. He could tell she was nervous. He could tell she was confused. Last of all, he could tell she was really surprised.

But he didn't know why. Why was she confused? Was she one of them? She knew his name, didn't she? She _had_ to be one of them because she knew him. And he didn't know her.

Momo glanced up from her arm. Before she knew what was happening, a fist was inching towards her face. She let out a soft shriek as she ducked. "What are you doing, Toshiro?" she screamed for the first time since that day.

"Stop following me!"

She was so confused. _What? _What was he talking about? "I'm not following you," she choked out.

"I'm not giving in to you guys," he answered coldly. A foot was so close to meeting her face when she moved to the side, letting him hit the air.

"To whom?"

"Don't play dumb with me, bitch!" he growled.

Momo froze in her place. Toshiro had _never _called her a bitch before. Not that he yelled at her either. What happened to him? He was so different. But he was Toshiro, wasn't he? He looked exactly like him! He even turned when she called his name out by accident. He was-

A foot met her stomach, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling. He looked at her with scorn as she hit the grass with a thud. Her eyelids shut, closing her eyesight, and she lied there, unconscious.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He kneeled down next to her and started to shake her. Nothing dropped. "That's weird," he murmured. "Don't they usually have that damn chip?"

He searched through her pockets and even ruffled her hair to see if she hid it in there. The unconscious figure didn't move a single muscle. He glanced at her bare wrists. And it hit him. They were _bare. _"Shit," he cursed under his breath. He glanced up to make sure no one was watching and then glanced back at the sleeping figure who didn't have that stupid black bracelet.

The black bracelet. Every one of them had it. It had the insignia of the family, and it was a symbol of loyalty. But she didn't. He was being stupid again, being suspicious of everybody. He let out another frustrated sigh and picked her up into his arms.

She wasn't one of them after all. How could he be so stupid to not notice such an important aspect? He knocked her out for no reason whatsoever.

He just had one question. How did she know him?

-X-

She fluttered her eyes open to an unfamiliar place. Everything was blurry for a few minutes, but when things became clear, she sat straight up. Where was she? Did she get kidnapped?

And then she started to recall the earlier of that morning. "Toshiro," she murmured softly. "He's alive." She stared dazedly at the blank wall in front of her. Questions took over her mind, and she had absolutely no clue what was going on anymore.

A knock was heard at the door. She glanced up to see him enter the room. She smiled. "Toshiro…" And then she frowned, remembering that he had just attacked her earlier.

"Look, whoever you are," he started, coming over and sitting on the bed.

She blinked in surprise. She could feel tears coming to her eyes. She should've seen this coming. Of course he didn't know her. He thought she was an enemy and attacked her. But she asked him out loud anyway. She wanted to know why he didn't know her. "How come?" she asked softly, her eyes glistening with tears.

"What?"

"How come you don't know me?"

"I've never met you in my life, and you expect me to know you?" he asked, his eyes sharpening at her question.

"But it's me. Momo. How could you not remember me? I was your fiancée," she answered shakily. She fiddled with her fingers that were starting to sweat from the nervousness. She could feel her brain going haywire.

"Fiancée?" he asked, taken aback. "I've never had a _girlfriend_ in my life."

"What?"

"I don't know who you are or how you know me, okay? My name is-"

"Toshiro Hitsugaya," she interrupted him. "Your name is Toshiro Hitsugaya."

He grimaced and stared at her hard.

"It's right, isn't it? You _are _Shiro-kun, aren't you?" she asked him as her heart paced faster. He was alive, right? Maybe he only got amnesia or something. And he forgot everything. But she saw his dead corpse yesterday!

He stood up and ignored her question. "Come on. I'm taking you home. I'm sorry for hitting you earlier. I don't know what came over me." He hesitated before he left the room and turned towards her, thrusting a card towards her. "I usually would never do this, seeing that I have absolutely no clue who you are, but if you need anything, just call, okay? I got you unconscious… and now I have to repay for it."

She read the card silently to herself. _Hitsugaya Toshirou. 469-093-195. "_Toshirou…" she whispered silently, testing the oh-so-familiar name with her tongue. But they weren't the same. She looked up at him and spoke a bit louder. "Your name has a 'u."

-X-

"Momo!" Orihime gasped as Momo stepped out of Toshirou's car. She came rushing to Momo's side and pulled her into an embrace. "Where have you _been?_ I was so worried! So, so worried…"

"Umm, well, something happened," Momo said weakly, smiling. She couldn't say that a guy who looked like Toshiro attacked her. No, that would be too much.

Toshirou rolled his window down and called out, "I'm sorry." And he was about to pull away when Orihime froze and looked at him curiously.

"Hitsugaya-san!? _Hitsugaya Toshiro?! _But you're- you're _dead,_" Orihime stuttered, her face paling.

He stared at Orihime for a minute and then glanced towards Momo. He gave her a look that said, _I'm-leaving-it-to-you-to-explain _and drove off. The wheels made a slight screech against the pavement as the car grew smaller and smaller within their sight.

"Momo?" Orihime questioned. "How…? What?"

"Umm," Momo started to say. "Let's go inside. It's cold out here."

-X-

"Hitsugaya-san's alive… alive, alive, alive," Orihime repeated in a hushed tone, staring blankly in the air.

"No," Momo corrected. "He's not. Well, he is, but not the one you're talking about. Toshiro – Shiro-kun – is dead. Toshiro – um… the new one – is alive. Is that too confusing?"

Orihime simply nodded, too dazed to understand.

"Orihime-chan?" Momo asked quietly, adding a fond suffix. "Orihime, are you okay?"

Orihime nodded once more, and Momo let it be. Momo gazed out the window. This was not how she expected Christmas to be, what with this huge commotion in her head and all.

--

_"Your name has a 'u."_

"_What? Of course my name has a 'u," Toshirou responded callously. "What? Does your Hitsugaya not have a 'u?"_

"_No," she answered softly. "No, he didn't." She wandered back to the bed to let this new information sink in. Her Toshiro. No 'u. Sweet, kind, considerate. This Toshirou. With a 'u. Callous, cold… different. But they looked alike. Could they be… "Twins?"_

"_What?" he asked._

"_Oh? Oh. Oh, I was wondering… did you have a twin brother?"_

"_No. I'm an only child."_

"_But," she couldn't think of an explanation. Why would there be two Toshiro(u)'s? Two people who looked exactly alike? Totally the same but not blood-related._

"_But nothing. I'm an only child. Look-" he paused, remembering that he didn't know her name._

"_Hinamori Momo."_

"_Hinamori. I don't know who your fiancé was or anything, but I just don't know him, okay? Do you understand me, Hinamori? I don't know who your fucking fiancé is – was, so stop mistaking me for him or talking to me about him!" he yelled angrily, glaring at her with hard, beady eyes that darkened as they cast upon her._

_There was a pregnant pause as she stared at him in shock. She let her eyes drift down and said ashamedly, "Okay. I get it. I'm sorry."_

_He let out a sigh as he sat down next to her. "I'm sorry, okay? Just let it go. You'll probably never even see me again."_

_She looked up at him, surprised. "But I want to see you again," she protested._

"_Why?"_

"_Because you remind me of him," she explained without thinking. She instantly covered her mouth with her hands as she saw the dark look in his eyes. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. Oh my gosh, Toshirou, I'm so sorry."_

_He let out another exasperated sigh, not bothering to correct that she called him by his first name. "It's fine, Hinamori. Let me just take you home."_

"_But I'll still be able to see you, right? And know you? And everything?" she asked with a hopeful tone in her voice. "Please?"_

"_You have my number. Come on already," he growled, leaving the room._

"_Mmm," she nodded. She glanced at his retreating back nervously. Could he really look the same, have both the same name and surname, but have absolutely no connections? She didn't believe it. She was going to get to the bottom of the untangled mystery if it was the last thing she did._

_--_

"Mou," Orihime moaned quietly. "It's already five, and you haven't even opened your presents yet! And we're going to Nemu-chan's party at six!"

"Did you open them without me?" Momo asked softly.

"Oh no! Come on. We better hurry up. Hold on, let me get the camera."

Momo nodded silently and sat there until Orihime trumped back into the room. They each opened their gifts and had a marvelous time, ending thirty minutes later, leaving another twenty to get ready and a ten to get there.

Although Momo had a lovely time, she couldn't bring herself to enjoy it. Any of it. She was unpleasantly down and confused. Desperately confused.

She needed to know the truth.

* * *

So... Was it good? I spent a lot of time thinking about this chapter and what to do with it... I'm sorry that it's so short! Did I promise that I was going to make this longer?? If I did, I'm sooooo sorry it's not that long, and I would promise that the next chapter would be longer, but I'm afraid I might break that again...

Please review and tell me what you think of it!

xoxo MimiMichie


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